Traditional
by Petite Sirene
Summary: Every year on Tezuka's birthday, he does the exact same thing, it's tradition he says, but when Tsubaki wants to do something nice for his birthday, will he let her or will he be too caught up in tradition? TezukaXOC Birthday fic


Haha, another late story. Yesterday was Tezuka's birthday, but I'm uploading it today! So did you hear about my new virtual cookie system? If you want to know, then scroll down to the bottom of this story to look at the bolded and italicized print and it will explain the virtual cookie system! Trust me, it will benefit you! :)

This story takes place after the beach training session in my other story: Otoshimae or Omiai?

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Traditional **

**Tezuka Birthday Fic**

"Happy birthday, Kunimitsu-san," were the first words that Tezuka heard that morning. He turned around to stare into the black eyes of the Seigaku Girls' Tennis team captain: Oguri Tsubaki. There was a whiff of jasmine that blew past Tezuka as the wind ruffled Tsubaki's hair.

"Thank you, Tsubaki-san," Tezuka replied in a stoic manner. He had met Tsubaki while walking to school, and they were now walking together up the hill that led to the high school. His hand brushed hers as they both walked close together. Ever since the training camp, they had gotten a lot closer, and Tezuka had always felt a need to keep Tsubaki away from people like Yukimura even though she could take care of herself. He didn't want a replay of what had happened at the training session on the beach.

"May I ask what you're doing for your birthday?" Tsubaki asked.

"Of course," Tezuka replied. "I go with tradition."

"Excuse me?" Tsubaki quirked her eyebrow.

"Well, according to tradition, every year on my birthday, the tennis team would do something weird for me right after school, and then when I get home, my family would surprise me with a dinner somewhere nice. After that, we would go home where my mom would make me a cake and then that's it."

"Sounds detailed. So you do the same thing every year?"

"Yes, it's tradition."

The two continued to the school where when they arrived the boys all grabbed Tezuka and practically dragged him away. Eiji turned back around to face Tsubaki and said, "Sorry Tsubaki-san, but this is Tezuka's special day and we're celebrating it with him! Unless of course . . . you want to come as his special someone." Eiji gave Tsubaki several winks before he was dragged away by Oishi who was scolding him for assuming things.

"What was that about, eh Tsubaki?" Koizumi asked as she came up behind her and hit her with a rolled up newspaper.

"Today is Kunimitsu's birthday," Tsubaki replied.

"Oh really? Are you going to do anything for him?" Even though Koizumi didn't really like how her best friend was friends with Tezuka, she knew that Tsubaki was a bit fond of Tezuka and she wasn't going to interfere and tell Tsubaki what to do.

"He already has plans."

"Oh?" Koizumi put her hands on her hips. "Well, why not be surprising and unexpecting for once?"

The bell rung then, interrupting Tsubaki's train of thought. She was going to say something to Koizumi, but she had forgotten it by the time they had both arrived in their class together. Tezuka was in that class too, along with Inui and the two sat near each other. There were some girls whispering in the corner about Tezuka. The boys always had fans, but most of the Tezuka fans were too shy to talk to him.

The two got up and walked over to Tezuka where they presented him with a card and said, "Happy birthday, Tezuka-san. I hope you like our card."

"Thank you," he said stoically before stuffing the card into a folder that he had somewhere.

Tsubaki was watching the scene and she felt a bit angry at herself. She knew it was Tezuka's birthday, and yet she didn't do anything for him. She didn't even get him a card like those girls did.

"I see you're upset, Tsubaki-san," Inui said popping up out of nowhere with his notebook. Tsubaki's heart skipped several beats, but she didn't let Inui see that he had surprised her.

"I just wish that I got something for Kunimitsu-san," she said.

"If you want, I can tell you where the restaurant is where his family is having dinner." Inui offered his help with a strange smile while writing furiously in his notebook.

"No thank you, I wouldn't want to intrude upon his family time."

"Trust me, he wouldn't care if you intruded upon him while he was playing a tournament."

"I doubt that, tennis is his life after all."

Inui sighed a bit before slipping a piece of paper into Tsubaki's notebook. "That's the restaurant in case you wanted to know."

"How did you find out?" Tsubaki asked taking a glance at it.

Inui didn't answer however because he had already walked all the way back to his seat. Tsubaki looked at the slip of paper again and saw that Tezuka was going to eat at green tea shop that sold food too called _The Green House_. Tsubaki put the slip of paper away and turned her attention back to the lesson.

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After school, Tezuka had been taken to a tennis shop with his friends. They said that he could have any three items in the shop and that they would pay for it since it was his birthday gift. Tezuka didn't really need anything, and he didn't want his friends to have to spend so much money on him, so he chose some grip tape, a new canister of tennis balls, and a new tennis shirt that he could wear when playing tennis outside of school.

Inui slithered up to him and said, "So did Tsubaki give you her gift yet?" His glasses gleamed bright in the light, and gave it an evil sort of aura.

"No she didn't," Tezuka replied.

"She might give it to you tonight. I told her where you were eating with your family."

"Did you now?" Tezuka tried to hide his surprise at what Inui did. He didn't know what he would say to his family (especially his grandfather) if a girl came and gave him a gift for his birthday while he was out with his family.

"I did. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm . . . I'm not exactly sure." Tezuka shook his head at the thought. Of course he would be happy if Tsubaki came to celebrate his birthday with him and his family. He would be really happy, but he didn't want it to be awkward for any of them or his family since he and Tsubaki were only friends and he hoped that they would stay that way. He didn't want them to be enemies like the rest of his and her teams.

"Well, she might come, she might not," Inui stated with a sad sigh. He could have gotten so much data! "She's really not that readable so I wouldn't know." Inui left Tezuka with a lot to think about while they were all at the tennis shop. Occasionally, Momo and Kaido would start arguing and Tezuka would step in to stop them, but he couldn't shake his mind of the idea that Tsubaki might come to his dinner.

For the rest of the night, he kept thinking about her coming. He took a long time getting ready, not because he was dressing up, but because his mind was preoccupied, and when he left with his parents and grandfather, they looked at him strangely as if he was wearing girls' clothes instead of boys'. They all went out to dinner and when Tezuka took his first bite, he swore that he saw someone who looked like Tsubaki, but it ended up not being her. Stupid Inui for telling him about what he had done. Tezuka wished he never did tell him. Tezuka made sure to keep one eye out for Tsubaki at all times. He didn't want his family to freak out about Tsubaki anyways, so he wanted to meet her first. He was like that for the rest of the time at the restaurant, and when they were about to leave and that it was apparent that Tsubaki wasn't going to come, Tezuka gave up. Of course Tsubaki wouldn't come! She knew how traditional his family was, and she didn't want to break up his birthday tradition by coming and ruining it.

His mother gave him the best chocolate cake he ever had when they got home, and he slowly ate his piece, chewing every bit as to get the full flavor. After a few bites, the cake tasted strange in his mouth, and Tezuka decided he needed to get some fresh air. He stepped out of his traditional home and stood by the gate that led outside.

"Happy birthday, Kunimitsu-san," a feminine voice whispered from the darkness. It was exactly what Tsubaki had said to him that morning. Tezuka wasn't sure if he had actually heard it or not so he twisted his head, trying to find where the voice came from.

"I'm over here, Kunimitsu-san," the voice said again.

"Tsubaki-san?" Tezuka questioned.

"Yes, I'm right here." Tsubaki stepped out of the darkness and into the street light where it illuminated all of her features and threw the shadows all ragged over her body.

"It's dangerous to be out at this time," Tezuka stated.

"I'm sorry for breaking your tradition by showing up like this," Tsubaki apologized. "You should be inside eating cake right now, but instead you're out here." Her black eyes were unblinking as she said those unfamiliar words. It wasn't often that she apologized since her family was also so traditional and taught her not to lie.

"I brought you a gift," she stated. She held out a blue and green wrapped package. It came with a card, and Tezuka looked at it first. It was simple and plain, but it said, _"Happy birthday Tezuka, I hope that I will be able to celebrate every birthday with you since I count you as a very important and valuable friend that will be with me for a lifetime."_

He put the card down and reached to open the gift. Inside the box was a set of armbands and a cell phone charm of a tennis ball. There were also some miscellaneous tennis things like a gift card for a tennis shop, a polo shirt, a few tennis balls, and a headband too. Tezuka had to work hard to not chuckle since he had gotten two of the things from the tennis shop, but he was happy that Tsubaki had gotten him a gift that had to do with his favorite hobby.

Tezuka looked up at Tsubaki, and her eyes had a curious expression in them.

"I really like it," he said.

"That's good," she sighed. She leaned against the gate and looked up at him through her bangs.

Tezuka gave a huge sigh before saying, "And I would like it if you also became a part of my tradition." There was a hint of a smile on Tsubaki's lips as she looked up at him.

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_**Hello everyone! Whoa! Another story in the exact same day! This is another oneshot birthday fic, so please review! :)**_

_**Please review to get a virtual cookie. I've come up with a new system where when someone reviews, they get a virtual cookie, I'll keep tabs on who reviews and at the end of a month, the person with the most virtual cookies will be able to request a story from me. So please review! :)**_


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